Page 22
Call Sign September 2011
LOOKING AT
(TAXI) LIFE...
with Tom Quigley (Y33)
Cyclists... Brain dead?
Olympic Opening ceremony
Can I be the only person that thinks TfL and the Mayor's office are giving
So Sir Paul McCartney has been chosen to be the star act at the opening
the impression that those who ride bikes in London have the memory and
ceremony of the London Olympics. Note the London Olympics not the
navigational skills of a goldfish?
Liverpool Olympics.
As the owner of a couple of bikes and with two sons who like to go out
The London Olympics, where all London ratepayers had to bear an addi-
on their bikes and join in the odd fund raiser, and probably like a lot of
tional charge on their council tax, even though it appears that a lot of the
taxi drivers who when on the knowledge used to spend a lot of time check-
events are not in London.
ing out points and shorter routes with a minimal income and a family to
Considering the amount of great London musicians there are, such as
bring up, so a bike was a cheap necessity and an alternative to walking. So
Roger Daltrey and The Who, Iron Maiden, Ray Davies and The Kinks,
contrary to some media and political views, most taxi drivers are not anti-
Dizzie Rascal, Adele and Sir Elton John - who has supported sport
cycling and if you undertook a survey, I would assume about 99% of taxi
throughout his career - to name but a few of probably several hundred. Not
driver families own or have owned a bike.
to mention Heather Small, a Londoner whose great rendition of the song
The much lauded super cycle highway schemes are painted in blue with
Proud in our bid was memorable and uplifting. So Sir Paul appears to be
the support of Barclays Bank - though not far removed from a soft Tory
a strange choice.
blue painted over Red Ken's red bus lane areas! So is there a political point
I am not against Sir Paul doing a slot, but to headline this event is to me
being made? If so, when we park on a blue / red zone should we pay any
a snub to Londoners. I'm sure that when they run the Marathon past all the
PCNs as we are not sure of the clarity or the colour of the road? I am wait-
iconic sights of London, we will not expect to see or hear Ferry across the
ing for some nice blue /yellow lines around Parliament Square to keep the
Mersey!
ConDems happy!
Whilst we are on the subject of music, my thoughts go to Mitch
But back to my original point as to cyclist's memory span. In the stretch
Winehouse and family after the tragedy of Amy's passing. When all is said
of the super highway, namely CS8, from Clapham North to Stockwell sta-
and done, fame or not, Amy was a taxi driver's daughter who had a
tion going northeast towards Vauxhall, the CS8 and cycle symbol have been
tremendous gift. I wish Mitch all the best in the new Foundation being set
painted no fewer than 40 times and with just as many going in the other
up in Amy's name. He is completely correct in his statement about the help
direction - this on a straight piece of road just over one mile long. I sus-
needed for working class people with addictions. I would proudly wear a
pect that most cyclists using this route are going to and from work, so one
polo shirt or any other clothing to promote and support this Foundation.
can presume they know where they live, where they work and which route
Tom Quigley (Y33)
they are taking. The need to have this painted every 20 odd metres on the
floor is totally unnecessary and what's more, if you take that policy for all
the super highways throughout London, this has surely to be a massive
carbon neutral failure as the paint and motifs have to be manufactured,
produced and installed - the latter would have involved road closures, nar-
rowing of lanes and untold amount of heavy machinery and organisation.
Furthermore, Lambeth Council seem to have jumped on the bandwagon
with new fancy cycle racks spelling out the words Lambeth, as if a cyclist
wouldn't know they left their bike in Lambeth! It could be said that the
remote chance of the bike still being there is a clue! Anyway, it's nice to
have pretty street furniture, but maybe a few more conventional cycle racks
2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Pool home sleeps 4/5
4 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Pool home sleeps 8/9
would have been a better use of money from a council that pleads pover-
ty. You can imagine the number of meetings, coffee, biscuits plus special-
ists commissioned to arrive at the outcome. The word Lambeth? They were
hardly going to opt for Tower Hamlets! Mind you, if you patent across all
the boroughs in England, not bad work if you can get it.
NIGEL (ALMOST) MEETS THE QUEEN!
Nigel Walters, Export Logistics Manager for The
6 Bedroom 5 Bathroom Pool home sleeps 12
Pool and conservation view at 6 bedroom home.
London Taxi Company recently attended a Royal
Garden Party held at Buckingham Palace.
Three properties owned by UK Registered Charity Dial A Dream. Reg. 1011637
Through his integral role within the International
Your opportunity to rent one of these villas and at the same time making it possible
team for The London Taxi Company, Nigel
for this charity to continue its work with children from all over the UK all of whom
became an active member of the Institute of
are suffering from a life limiting illness. All villas within minutes of the main Disney
Export and was subsequently invited to join the
theme parks, golf courses and restaurants.
Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of
Commerce International Trade Committee. It is
lmost
The Queen a
We can offer car hire and theme park tickets for you and your family at very
through his dedication and commitment to
competitive rates.
el!
meeting Nig
these societies that the Chamber nominated
Nigel for an invite to the Royal Garden Party.
So, if you are considering a Florida based holiday in the near future then call
us and you may be helping us to give a very sick cild the will to say
Nigel told Call Sign: "Exporting taxis has taken me to many exciting coun-
"Let me live another day".
tries around the world including Singapore, South Africa, Russia and more
recently Azerbaijan, but I'd never have thought it would have led to having tea
Prices from £56 per night through to £237 per night
with the Queen! I was next to Princess Anne as she arrived at the event and I
(Prices are for the villa and not per person.)
mingled amongst the many other special guests watching Her Majesty stop and
speak to a random few before making her way to the Royal tea tent, where she
met with further guests to make presentations. With tea, cakes and a beautiful
garden to stroll in, I found the whole event to be a wonderful experience which
Tel: 020 8530 5589
www.dialadream.co.uk
was (of course) only complete by arriving and departing from the Palace in a
London Taxi!"
